Cute folktale
"My six year old gives this book “twenty five stars!” It’s a cute book, especially if you’re a fan of “spooky” things."
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale (A Macabre Story About Courage and Friendship - Chapter Book for Early Readers Ages 4-9 in Grades 1-4)
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A #1 New York Times bestseller!
A Kirkus Book Prize Finalist!
A New York Times Best Children’s Chapter Book the Year
A Wall Street Journal Best Children's Book of the Year
Caldecott Medalist and New York Times best-selling author-illustrator Jon Klassen delivers a deliciously macabre treat for folktale fans.
Jon Klassen's signature wry humor takes a turn for the ghostly in this thrilling retelling of a traditional Tyrolean folktale. In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both? Steeped in shadows and threaded with subtle wit—with rich, monochromatic artwork and an illuminating author’s note—The Skull is as empowering as it is mysterious and foreboding.
A Kirkus Book Prize Finalist!
A New York Times Best Children’s Chapter Book the Year
A Wall Street Journal Best Children's Book of the Year
Caldecott Medalist and New York Times best-selling author-illustrator Jon Klassen delivers a deliciously macabre treat for folktale fans.
Jon Klassen's signature wry humor takes a turn for the ghostly in this thrilling retelling of a traditional Tyrolean folktale. In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both? Steeped in shadows and threaded with subtle wit—with rich, monochromatic artwork and an illuminating author’s note—The Skull is as empowering as it is mysterious and foreboding.
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale (A Macabre Story About Courage and Friendship - Chapter Book for Early Readers Ages 4-9 in Grades 1-4)
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Overall rating: 4.857143 / 5 from 7 reviews.
AI Generated Review Summary
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Review topics: ["book","story","illustrations","friend"].
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Reviews
Cute folktale
"My six year old gives this book “twenty five stars!” It’s a cute book, especially if you’re a fan of “spooky” things."
Not as scary as the title
"While the title and the illustration on the front (very Jon Klassen) imply a very scary story, it’s actually kind of sweet if a child rescuing a skull can be sweet. And there’s some humor like when the child gives the skull a drink of tea (he has no hands after all) and it flows through to the chair. May be your new favorite Halloween story and btw, Troylean refers to the Austrian state of Tryol – think Black Forest."
Delightfully Macabre With a Cup of Tea!
"My family absolutely loves Jon Klassen books! This one is such a fun retelling with Klassen's signature dark humor. Although based on a Tyrolean folktale there are some parallels to Beauty and the Beast. It may be a little long for lapsit readers, but it is extremely enjoyable for ages 5 and up. I can almost guarantee you that your child will want to carry around their very own skull. Don't worry. Because you'll want to too."
An adorable morbid children's book
"Otilla is a strange little girl who finds a strange little friend in a skull and their friendship is both morbid and beautiful. I picked this book up hoping for a dark, strange, morbid children's book and I got just exactly that. The illustrations are imaginative and dark but somehow adorable and comforting at the same time. The story is melancholy and slightly morbid but is also very tender and sweet and I felt myself going aw in multiple places. There was even a little twist where I gasped out loud. I'd definitely recommend for anyone wanting to add a beautiful folklore twist book to their shelves or for anyone who has a slightly morbid child in their life. I'd definitely give this to my kid if I had one."
A new Halloween favorite of ours!
"This eerie tale begins before the title page when we find that, one night, Otilla finally ran away. And run she does, into the forest until she’s some place unfamiliar and (maybe) someone is calling her name. Coming upon a very big, very old house, her knocking is answered by a skull! From there, the story unfolds—but I can’t tell you how, you have to read the book. Let me just say that Jon Klassen’s creepy, unexpected reimagined version of this folktale has crept onto my Top Ten favorite Halloween books. It has heart. It has twists. It has a talking skull! Klassen’s art feels familiar in Otilla’s wide-eyed expression, yet there’s enough new to keep his illustrations fresh. In one of my favorite scenes, Otilla and the skull don decorative Tyrolean masks (after the skull says they’re just for show!) and dance in an empty ballroom. I appreciate the craftmanship of his writing with the parallels he alludes to between the two main characters. This book will be one we turn to for many Halloweens to come. It’s written as a chapter book of sorts with sections and clever subheadings, but the book will also appeal to picture book readers. It’s flawlessly executed, an example of an author-illustrator at a career peak. After the story, Klassen explains the history of how he came to write this story and how tales evolve in the telling."
Beautiful book
"When Otilla runs away, she travels through a dense forest before coming across a house that looks abandoned. When she knocks on the door, Otilla discovers the house is inhabited after all. Otilla looked up to where the voice had come from. In a window above the door, she saw a skull looking at her. By a skull that is haunted by a secret. I’m not quite sure how Otilla managed to get the fire hot enough for one of its purposes. I want to know why Otilla ran away and need to invent more of a backstory for the skull because my macabre-o-meter needs more juice. This is a beautiful book. A retelling of a Tyrolean folktale, it’s such an odd little story and I have no idea yet if I will fall in love with it during a reread or if the question marks are going to remain above my head. What I’m absolutely certain of is that I loved the dance and the masks. I adored the quirky illustrations. I really enjoyed the author’s note, where they explain how this retelling came about. Thank you so much to Walker Books for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3. 5 stars."